Alker lets tournament slip; Fox top-20 result
- NZ Sports Wire
- Sep 22
- 3 min read
Kiwi golfer Steven Alker has let a share of the 36-hole lead on the PGA Tour Champions slip away.
Alker could not put a good closing round together, finishing tied for third at 10-under an even-par 72 in the final round of the Pure Insurance Championship at the Pebble Beach Golf Links in California on Sunday (Monday NZ Time).
LATEST HEADLINES:
Silver Ferns overcome troubles in win
The 54-year-old entered the day tied for the lead with Canadian left-hander Mike Weir but carded five birdies and five bogeys in an inconsistent round.
He fell out of the lead with back-to-back bogeys to start his round, but followed it with three birdies in four holes - at the third, fourth and sixth. Bogeys at the 10th and 12th holes stalled his chances before birdies at the 14th and 16th threatened a late charge.
Alker finished tied with South African Retief Goosen, two strokes behind the winner, American Doug Barron, who fired a six-under 66, and one shot back of Fijian Vijay Singh.
He remained third in the season-long Schwab Cup standings with five tournaments remaining but did gain ground on leader Miguel Angel Jiminez and Stewart Cink.
On the DP World Tour, New Zealand No 1 Ryan Fox has posted his third top-20 finish of the season and furthered his chances of reaching the tour's playoffs.
Fox shot a three-under 68 on the final day of the Open de France at Golf de Saint-Nom-La-Bretèche in Paris on Sunday (Monday NZT), rising nine spots into a three-way tie for 14th at seven-under for the tournament.
The 38-year-old signed for five birdies - at the second, fifth, sixth, 13th and 16th holes - and two bogeys - first and ninth - to finish nine strokes behind the winner, American Michael Kim, who went six-under to win by one.
Fox, who played the majority of 2025 on the PGA Tour, moved up 11 places on the Road to Dubai Rankings to 91st, with the top-70 golfers qualifying for the final two tournaments.
Further down the leaderboard, Daniel Hillier managed an two-over 73 in the fourth round to finish in a share of 56th at even-par, while Kazuma Kobori missed the cut by four shots after back-to-back rounds of two-over 73.
Hillier carded two birdies and four bogeys, including three straight at the 13th, 14th and 15th, to tumble 16 spots.
The 27-year-old remains 20th in the R2D Rankings, while Kobori dropped two places to 32nd, both on track to qualify for the playoffs with four tournaments left.
On the Asian Tour, Nick Voke finished tied for 46th at the Tournament Players Championship in Chinese Taipei with a two-over 74 in the final round on Sunday, following earlier rounds of 74, 67 and 70. He ended at three-under, 14 strokes off the pace.
Momoka Kobori claimed solo 25th at three-under at the Ladies European Tour's La Sella Open in Spain, despite a two-over 74, which included four birdies, four bogeys and a double-bogey, on the last day on Sunday (Monday NZT).
Fellow New Zealanders Amelia Garvey and Wenyung Keh both missed the cut. Garvey, who sits 17th in the Order of Merit, fell one shy, while Keh was six shots adrift.
On the Korn Ferry Tour, Harry Hillier missed the cut at the Children's Hospital Championship in Columbus, Ohio by two strokes after rounds of even-par 71 and two-over 73.
